Berry Picking in the Park

~ By Sam ~

Fall is officially here and before we turn in our t-shirts and light sweaters for heavy coats and scarves here in Washington, we like to get some last minute blackberry picking in at a local park. Gathering blackberries to make muffins and pie is how we kick off the fall around here. The boys love to walk along the brush and find the fattest berries they can! It is a fun tradition I hope to carry on through the years. Do you have any fun family traditions to jump start the fall?

Happy New Year 2012!

Happy New Year everyone! I cannot believe its 2012. I had a plan to write what I learned this year and my goals for myself, my family life and my blog. But then New Years Eve morning we took our son to the park to play and I changed my mind. It was a beautiful sunny day in Cali to go to the park and there were other families playing and having fun. My son adores dogs and if he sees one at the park he always wants to go pet it. Of course I always ask first since I do not want him to try to pet an unfriendly dog. This time there was an old couple and their dogs walking pass the slide area. My son ran over to them saying "Dog Dog" The old man stopped and after letting us know it was ok to pet the dog he just smiled away seeing my son gently pet the dog. The mans wife kept walking towards the dog area but the old man stayed to let my son pet the dog to his hearts content. I would guess the old man was at least in his late 70s maybe early 80s and he talked moved very slowly.

As we were standing there he put out his hand out towards us and quietly said "This world would be a great place......(then he paused to catch his breath).....if everyone would just do the right thing" Then he smiled and said he had to "go back to the boss" referring to catching up to his wife who was on the other side of the park. This left my husband and I a bit baffled and touched by his words. It seemed like such a simple thing but so complex at the same time. I thought to myself that will be my motto for 2012 to just do the right thing, what I feel is right in my heart. So many versions in the world of what is "the right thing" is what seems to make it hard for it to work. But I am going to live this year to do my best to do the right thing for my family, myself and my blog.

We will of course be watching the Rose Parade in the morning on TV like Nana mentioned in her New Years post and we will eat Panda Express like we do every year! We are now making a new tradition of taking our son to the park to play on New Years Eve morning. We also take a picture of my son by the TV as the ball drops in Time Square, its cheesy but its as close as we get to being there.

Happy New Year 2012 everyone I hope this year will be the year I find a way to make blogging a full time job for myself, Nana and Sam, and for Meg to work for us part time. Keeping all the women in our family connected through the blog is what brings me an unmeasurable joy. Thank You to my family for the support in keeping this blog going and a Thank You to all of our readers who make our blog as great as it is!

It Wouldn't Be New Years If We Didn't Watch The Rose Parade

On the morning of January 1st of every year, I know exactly where I will be. I will be sitting down watching the Rose Parade on TV and loving every second of it. I grew up in the Los Angeles/Pasadena area so the Parade and all of it's elaborate preparations were just a fact of life. It wasn't until I was older that I realized this was an event that was watched and loved by millions of people all around the world. Every New Year's Eve when I was a teenager I would beg my parents to let me spend the night on Colorado Blvd. which is the main Parade route we all see on TV. Talk about a party! Every year they said no. I have only recently stopped carrying a grudge about this.

Have you ever gone to the Rose Parade? It truly is a once in a lifetime, very special experience. People come from all over the country to see the floats, the marching bands and all of those beautiful horses and their riders. The flowers on the floats are so stunningly beautiful they almost seem unreal. Amazingly, every flower, seed, or decoration used must be real or natural. There are not many people who can say they have decorated a float in the Rose Parade. But my daughter Sam did when she was in eighth grade with her Drill Team. It was quite an honor to do this and she came home dirty, covered in glue and seeds, but extremely happy. Each year she never fails to mention that she is the only one in the family who holds this honor. A couple of years later Laura was on the Drill Team, but the team wasn't involved with the decorating that year. From the Parade's humble beginning back in 1890 with decorated carriages and games to play, we have all come to love and appreciate the Tournament Of Roses Parade. Whether you are lucky enough to be in sunny Pasadena to see it in person or watching it on TV, our New Year's Day would not be the same without it. Happy New Year everybody!